Quantifying kelp carbon and nutrient flows for nature-based solutions . This fellowship aims to resolve carbon removal and nutrient mitigation potential of Australia’s kelp forests now and in future. It will create new understanding of the ecosystem services provided by the Great Southern Reef, and the capacity of kelp forests to provide nature-based solutions to reduce emissions and improve coastal water quality. Using a combination of global models and ecological experiments on kelp forests an ....Quantifying kelp carbon and nutrient flows for nature-based solutions . This fellowship aims to resolve carbon removal and nutrient mitigation potential of Australia’s kelp forests now and in future. It will create new understanding of the ecosystem services provided by the Great Southern Reef, and the capacity of kelp forests to provide nature-based solutions to reduce emissions and improve coastal water quality. Using a combination of global models and ecological experiments on kelp forests and their replacement ecosystem states, the fellowship will predict changes in function with warming. This information is critical to determine net ecosystem mitigation potential and will significantly advance our understanding of the potential of kelp forests to generate co-benefits while conserving biodiversity. Read moreRead less
Species redundancy in response to multiple disturbances. This project aims to elucidate how the context within which disturbances occur affects food web linkages and how these map to responses in ecosystem function. There is a critical need to test the common assumption in environmental management that high biodiversity makes ecosystems resilient to disturbances. Studies that merely observe biodiversity change after disturbance cannot identify ecological processes connecting high diversity and e ....Species redundancy in response to multiple disturbances. This project aims to elucidate how the context within which disturbances occur affects food web linkages and how these map to responses in ecosystem function. There is a critical need to test the common assumption in environmental management that high biodiversity makes ecosystems resilient to disturbances. Studies that merely observe biodiversity change after disturbance cannot identify ecological processes connecting high diversity and ecosystem function, making experiments that manipulate identical disturbances in ecosystems with different biodiversity essential. This project will use field experiments that manipulate disturbances in streams replicated in low and high biodiversity regions and across gradients of chronic background stress to show how biodiversity sustains functional ecosystems, and how much diversity can be lost before ecosystems collapse.Read moreRead less
Resolving the role of kelp in blue carbon cycles to enable management. We aim to uncover how kelp forests contribute to carbon storage, biodiversity enhancement and nutrient mitigation in Australia. We will combine mapping and modelling to identify local variation in kelp carbon stocks and sequestration potential and verify kelp carbon export to deep ocean sinks through genetic tracing in seawater and sediments. Co-benefits will be identified through nutrient experiments and reef surveys. We wil ....Resolving the role of kelp in blue carbon cycles to enable management. We aim to uncover how kelp forests contribute to carbon storage, biodiversity enhancement and nutrient mitigation in Australia. We will combine mapping and modelling to identify local variation in kelp carbon stocks and sequestration potential and verify kelp carbon export to deep ocean sinks through genetic tracing in seawater and sediments. Co-benefits will be identified through nutrient experiments and reef surveys. We will also assess the risk that calcification and production of halogenic gas within the kelp forest could offset its climate mitigation potential. Project outcomes will enable management to consider kelp ecosystem services broadly and optimize our capacity to meet current emission reduction and biodiversity commitments.Read moreRead less
Blue carbon potential of the Great Southern Reef. As one of Australia’s largest vegetated coastal ecosystems, kelp forests provide substantial climate mitigation opportunities. Although kelp carbon is ubiquitous in the deep ocean, the mechanism of transport and amount of kelp carbon reaching deep sinks remains largely unknown, significantly hampering their inclusion in ocean carbon budgets and mitigation action. We will use Australia-wide field data on kelp export, cross-shelf measurements of tr ....Blue carbon potential of the Great Southern Reef. As one of Australia’s largest vegetated coastal ecosystems, kelp forests provide substantial climate mitigation opportunities. Although kelp carbon is ubiquitous in the deep ocean, the mechanism of transport and amount of kelp carbon reaching deep sinks remains largely unknown, significantly hampering their inclusion in ocean carbon budgets and mitigation action. We will use Australia-wide field data on kelp export, cross-shelf measurements of transport and decay, coastal ocean circulation and future distribution models to vastly improve estimates of kelp carbon transfer to deep ocean sinks. Our comprehensive data-driven assessment of kelp carbon sequestration aims to uncover the carbon sink capacity of seaweed forests now and in the futureRead moreRead less
Balancing estuarine and societal health in a changing environment. This project aims to facilitate sustainable development in a fast-growing coastal region (Peel-Harvey, south-western Australia). By exploiting 30+ year data sets for this catchment-estuary system and integrating ecological, hydrological, biogeochemical, modelling and socio-economic expertise, this project seeks to link primary catchment drivers to estuarine health response (up to higher fauna), quantify estuarine ecological healt ....Balancing estuarine and societal health in a changing environment. This project aims to facilitate sustainable development in a fast-growing coastal region (Peel-Harvey, south-western Australia). By exploiting 30+ year data sets for this catchment-estuary system and integrating ecological, hydrological, biogeochemical, modelling and socio-economic expertise, this project seeks to link primary catchment drivers to estuarine health response (up to higher fauna), quantify estuarine ecological health and ecosystem services under historical and future scenarios, and test resilience across the human–natural system. Envisaged outcomes include evidence-based catchment planning solutions that optimise trade-offs between socio-economic development goals and minimal downstream impacts on estuarine health.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100692
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$414,814.00
Summary
Regime shifts from kelp forests to turfs: drivers, resilience and future. This project aims to apply a comparative experimental and analytical approach to quantify linkages among multiple stressors driving kelp forest loss and expansion of turfs across three continents. Transformations of kelp forests to turf reefs are associated with a profound loss of ecological productivity and function, with significant impacts for societies reliant on the biodiversity and functioning of kelp ecosystems. Fie ....Regime shifts from kelp forests to turfs: drivers, resilience and future. This project aims to apply a comparative experimental and analytical approach to quantify linkages among multiple stressors driving kelp forest loss and expansion of turfs across three continents. Transformations of kelp forests to turf reefs are associated with a profound loss of ecological productivity and function, with significant impacts for societies reliant on the biodiversity and functioning of kelp ecosystems. Field and laboratory experiments will be used to develop and test ‘green gravel’, a novel restoration tool that aims to overcome reinforcing feedbacks (lack spores and hard substrate) preventing recovery of kelp forests. This will provide significant benefits by identifying solutions to address loss of kelp forests in Australia and globally.Read moreRead less